‘500 kids killed in road crashes daily’

The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) has urged school bus drivers to be safety conscious and make the roads safe for users, especially pupils.

At the third United Nations Road Safety Week, which ended last Sunday, the agency said it was worrisome that 500 children are killed daily globally.

Speaking on the theme: “Children and road safety” at the Ogun State Sector Command headquarters in Abeokuta, the Sector Commander, Adegoke Adetunji, said the growing rate of child fatalities informed the UN’s directive to organise a child road safety week to draw attention to the need to keep the roads safe for children. The event, he noted, was organised across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

It was also a part of the UN’s decade of action on road safety, which mandated all member-nation to reduce the rate of road traffic crashes (RTC) as well as fatalities to 20 percent by year 2020.

Adetunji said the one-week campaign was to enlighten the public on the need to consider children’s safety on roads.

He said: “Children are the leaders of tomorrow and the future of a nation. Thousands of them are being killed and deformed on the roads around the world every day, because of what the elderly ones do or fail to do when they are behind the wheels.”

A nation that desires a better future must protect its children, he said, adding that there is need for road discipline for children’s sake.

He said road indiscipline exposes children to dangers and many children may not have the chance to grow old as they may be involved in fatal accident.

He appealed to parents, drivers and mototcyclists to be safety conscious whenever they are driving close to school premises or wherever children can easily be found, so that the roads can be made safe for them.

Adegoke urged parents to consider children’s safety while travelling, saying it is wrong to allow children between ages one and 12 months to sit in front of a car.

“Most parents/drivers allow minors to sit in front of a vehicle; this is abnormal and very bad. Such a parent, he said is exposing the child to a grave danger in case of any crashes. He noted that parents must always use a baby car seat for their minors, for him/her to be adequately protected in case of any crash because children are more prone to injuries or being killed whenever accident occur on the road.”

“Parents should stop putting their children on the lap or chest while driving; this, he said, is the easiest way of exposing children to crashes. It is better for a child to cry than sending him/her to an early grave,” Adegoke said.

The FRSC boss urged parents to always use the safety lock when on motion and restrain them from playing with it. “Children are innocent, they don’t know anything, but it is the duty of the parents to protect them against dangers,” he added.

He appealed to Nigeria Union of Teachers to assist in spreading this children road safety proclamation among the pupils, parents and the public.

Adegoke urged school proprietors to comply with the new school bus designs as approved by the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON).

He advised parents/guardians and school owners to always ensure the safety of their children/wards from home to school and back, urging them to avoid putting their children on okada.

He also warned the parents against the use of pick-up vans to convey children to school, imploring proprietors to comply with the guidelines to avoid arrest when enforcement begins.